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Fracking hell: the big story

A unique collaboration between The Ecologist and Link TV lifts the lid on fracking and the shale gas boom sweeping into Europe and beyond...

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process that injects water, sand, and chemicals into underground rock (usually shale) at high pressure to extract natural gas. But it is highly controversial. Supporters say it provides the US with a cheap source of fuel and helps provide jobs and prosperity, while opponents say it pollutes air and water.

Now, as fracking goes global, communities in South Africa, Poland - and beyond - have to decide between environmental concerns and big financial incentives from the energy companies.

Fracking hell? Poland's dash for gasFracking multinationals covet the sizable shale deposits lying deep in Poland's underbelly. Advocates say this will bring prosperity, but opponents cite the US experience -- where fracking is marred by environmental and social concerns --

Fracking hell? The untold story A look at the risks of natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale: from toxic chemicals in drinking water to unregulated interstate dumping of potentially radioactive waste, are the health consequences worth the economic gains? Watch it

Further reporting

How dairy farms suffer in US gas fracking boom. By Dimiter Kenarov. Read

Youngstown: where promise and the curse of shale gas collide. By Dimiter Kenarov. Read.

Livestock falling in in fracking regions, raising fears about food. By Elizabeth Royte.Read.

INVESTIGATIONUK shale gas boom 'may be dirtier than coal'The greenhouse gas footprint of fracking may be higher than that of coal. Tom Levitt reports from the centre of this potential unconventional gas boom near Blackpool